I love winter, the smell of log fires, cosy nights in watching Netflix and decorating the Christmas tree with my twin girls and husband. However, Winter also means rocking a dark lip, the 2 go together like mince pies and brandy butter. I’m usually Miss Natural Make up 2015 with a wash of chocolate, taupe nudes and soft berries and pinks but come winter, it seems rude not to dance on the dark side. I’m not alone, the A/W 15 catwalks were awash with goth lips that would make Edgar Allen Poe proud. At Emanuel Ungaro, a blackcurrant deep stain looked very femme fatale and grown up.
PHOTO CREDIT: EMANUEL UNGARO/ YANNIS VLAMOS/INDIGITALIMAGES.COM
The best thing about a dark lip is that you can go natural with the rest of your make up and throwing on a deep wine/port stained lip is like putting on some heels to add some oomph to a more casual day time look. After seeing the aubergine stain Francois Nars created at Marc Jacobs, using his Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Train Bleu all over the lip, I was inspired to whip out my Nars Audacious Lipstick in Ingrid, £24, www.selfridges.com, a rich deep purple that’s so densely pigmented- just one slick across the lips will do the job.
PHOTO CREDIT: MARC JACOBS/GIANNI PUCCI/INDIGITALIMAGES.COM
When I go all out with a dark lip I love Poppy King’s Lipstick Queen’s Bete Noire in Possessed Intense ,£24,www.spacenk.com, it’s more of a blackberry and I love the blue undertones, which I find really flattering for my skin tone. Typically I’m a gloss n, glow gal and yet this colour doesn’t freak me out even though it’s unashamedly creamy and more matte but keeps lips comfortable without the vampiric way other mattes can literally suck the life out of your lips. If you need to take baby steps when it comes to a dark lip, you can try a gloss formula like NYX Cosmetics Butter Gloss in Devil’s Food Cake, £5, www.boots.com, which smells like a vanilla sponge cake or if you’re a child of the 80s like me and spent some of your youth in America (I lived in LA for a year when I was 8 and Florida for a year when I was 11- don’t ask), it brings me straight back to buying lip smacker lip gloss and feeling like I was in a Sweet Valley High novel. For a more middle weight blackened plum approach to a goth lip, you could try the rather fabulous and provocatively named Dark Desires collection Cremesheen Boyfriend Stealer lipstick by MAC, £15.50, www.maccosmetics.com, it’s limited edition so stick your elbows out and get yourself to a counter -like now! (my inner valley girl is resurfacing)
PHOTO CREDIT: KIM WESTON ARNOLD/INDIGITALIMAGES.COM
To line or not to line…hmmmmm. When I want precision and to make an effort I like to line my lips with MAC’s Chestnut Lip Pencil, £12.50 or MAC’s NightMoth Lip Pencil, £12.50. For a stain I just pat on some colour with my finger to create a distressed, more worn lived in look. I think the great thing about the goth lip on a darker skin tone, is no matter how dark you go, whether you choose blackberry, aubergine, plum or purple tones, it always compliments the skin and never looks too much. I think it’s because these tones exist in deeper skin already so even though you rock a stain, gloss or matte texture it gives impact and depth while still looking natural -ish. Go on you know you want to, take a walk on the wild side…..Morrissey would be proud of you.
I would love to know what goth lipsticks are in your stash, please do share what works for you and your go to products by leaving a mention of your most treasured lipsticks, gloss and liners in the comments section below!
